I am now going into my third week in kindergarten, and have been trying to observe the children play as much as possible. As I begin taking over more subjects, I have tried to implement play into my activities as much as possible. For example, in math last week I had the children play the game Trouble. For this activity the students were practicing adding and counting by moving spaces, and I also saw a lot of cooperation and problem solving. There were some students that did not understand how to play the game, so the other students explained and helped them. I also saw them problem solve on their own, when some students were worried others were cheating. They went back on their own to figure out how many spaces they were supposed to go. I have seen first hand how play reinforces cooperation skills, social development and problem solving. There is one boy who has a hard time socializing and solving problems independently, and I notice that he does not play. I have tried to set up some play situations so that he feels welcomed into a situation and comfortable playing with others. Hopefully, play will help him to develop socially.

In my second week of kindergarten I have had the chance to observe and be a part of play. Today I had more control of how the day went. After students were done with what they were assigned to do, I let them have free choice, which meant they could play whatever they want. I also gave them the last 30 minutes of the day to play. One thing I notice a lot, is the gender issue and stereotypes during play. Most of the times the boys play with the boys, and girls play with the girls. I've also noticed a lot of boys building things, while all the girls are in the kitchen dramatic play area, doll house or drawing. I was watching a group of boys who were playing with legos. It was very interesting hearing their story lines. Some pretended they were in a war, and the others would add on. They seemed to cooperate very well. One boy would say how he wanted a certain piece, while the others would work to help him try to find it. They also seemed to solve problems together. There was a bit of conflict at the end during clean up, when one of the boys smashed another boys lego car that he had made. I thought for sure that the boy whose car got ruined would tell on him, but instead he told the smasher that he was mad because he worked hard on the car and told him not to break it. The boy said sorry, and I noticed in the next play time that they were building something together. As I am able to have more control of how the days go, I will definitely continue to try to include more and more play, because I am seeing the things I have read about in our weekly readings coming into action in the classroom.

First day of kindergarten

Today was my first day in my kindergarten placement, and it is extremely different already from my previous placement. The first thing I noticed was the set up of the room. In my last classroom the desks were lined up in rows, and there was really no room for anything else. In this room the play area is the focal point, in the center of the room. There is a dramatic play area with a kitchen, puzzles, blocks, doll house, trains, cars, etc. When I told my teacher about this class and asked her about the amount of play found in the classroom, she told me that she tries to fit it in as much as possible, but unfortunately there is not a lot of time in the day for it. I was able to witness a lot of play, though I was busy myself so I could not observe. The children had two recesses, and also two free play times. When I looked over, most of the students were building things with blocks and playing with cars. None of the students were by the dramatic play area which surprised me. I am eager to see the amount of play that goes on in this room, and the play situations that I am able to bring to it.

My fifth grade classroom really does not incorporate play because of all the material and curriculum guidelines that are put forth. Today I included some form of play by having them act. They were given a Shel Silverstein poem, and they had to come up with a skit that acted out the poem. This allowed for free thinking and imagination. The kids were very eager to do the activity and did an exceptional job using their imaginations to come up with their skits. Even though this is a small form of play, it did incorporate social activity, movement and imagination. The students loved it, and even asked if we could do it again tomorrow. I start my kindergarten placement in a little over a week and I am really looking forward to it. I will be able to see play all around me and observe the affects it has on children, which I am not able to see as much now.

This week has really opened me up to the politics and reality of the future of education. Right now our district has had to cut a lot of aids, prep time, etc. for money reasons and for time spent on academic instruction. They want a curriculum that consists of reading, writing and math. Specials such as music, gym and even recess may eventually be eliminated. At the moment we have two recesses a day, and I cannot tell you how important that play time is. The thought of having to delete one of these is really sad, and sadly most schools are facing this possibility because of the expectations government has on our schools. In the readings I have done for this course I have seen how schools are moving into a curriculum focused directly on academic instruction, but now it I am able to see the sad reality.

Last week I had recess duty for two days so I was able to see the children in a free playing experience and environment. Even though the students are mostly 11 years old, make believe play is still very evident. When I was playing with them, we played a game where you had to act out a person. I also notice a lot of physical play. They love to run around and get their energy out. I see that without this physical play, when we are back in the classroom they are more wound up and prone to acting up or not paying attention. It's funny because most teachers hate having recess duty, but I really enjoy it. It lets me see the children outside of the classroom setting, and it also lets me see their personality more. They seem to be more social while they play and act more like kids. It surprises me the most that even though they are 11 they still play like little kids, and I enjoy that : )

Health Lesson

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I've been wanting to incorporate some sort of structured play into my lessons. In health, I am teaching a unit on nutrition. Today we were learning about the food pyramid and the different food groups. I had them do a game on the smartboard where they had to put different foods into their correct group. This simple game was so much fun for them that they wanted to play again and again. To add more play, tomorrow for my lesson I am going to split the class into three groups and then each group would be given pictures of different foods. On one side of the room there would be five baskets labeled with a food group. Each team would send one teammate at a time with one piece of food and they would have to speed walk and put the food in the correct basket. This would allow the students to be moving and doing some sort of fun competition. I see how much the children enjoy getting that little bit of movement, so I am excited to watch how the lesson turns out, and see how structured play will work.
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